


Burn, Baby, Burn

by panthershabit



Category: Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four (2015), Fantastic Four (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Amazing Spider-Man (Movies - Webb)
Genre: Adopted Peter Parker, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Awkward Flirting, Developing Relationship, First Meetings, M/M, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Build, Video & Computer Games
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-28
Updated: 2019-02-13
Packaged: 2019-10-17 23:27:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17569949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/panthershabit/pseuds/panthershabit
Summary: Peter gets tired of hearing his parents argue every night, so he sneaks out one night and meets Johnny Storm in the building his father sold.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't worked out the ages yet, but it's roughly that they're similar ages, like Peter is 18 and Johnny is 19, 20 at most.

Life had not always been this crazy. Peter sat cross-legged in his room with his headphones blasting retro music into his ears as he attempted to block out what had to be the fourth argument his parents were having in the week. It wasn't always fun to remember the old times as a foster kid but it wasn't exactly a nightmare either, growing up with nobody around him eager to be his friend had its perks. For one, he was allowed to eat in his room which helped the fact that talking to other people wasn't exactly his area of expertise.

He also didn't have to make small talk when he did his chores as most of them were assigned to keep him to himself, like cleaning up in the kitchen or helping someone lift the clothes into baskets. And right now, those memories were certainly better than the moment he was experiencing right now, where his fathers were shouting as loud as they could about Peter's wellbeing.

He wasn't a child. Well, he was someone's child, but he was old enough to look after himself. Ever since he'd opened up to his parents that he was the famous 'Spider-Man' webbing around the streets of New York, they'd been arguing about who was to blame. Steve believed Tony's laid back, encouraging behavior was responsible for their son fighting crime in New York without either of them being told or even being slightly aware.

Tony was under the impression that the actual superhero with powers was to blame as it made Peter feel as if it were okay for him to go around the streets using his powers for the greater good. In the end, Peter felt more offended by the thought that neither of his dads believed he was doing it for the cause of ridding New York of crime and making the streets safer for people to walk, no, it _had_ to be because he was an impressionable teenager who couldn't do anything for himself.

_'This is your fault, Tony! If you actually asked him how he was instead of being too scared to come across as the 'lame dad' then you would-'_

_'What do you mean 'lame dad'? You think I don't care about our son?'_

They had gone back and forth for about twenty minutes when Peter decided enough was enough and he threw his headphones off his head and towards the wall but his reflexes forced him to immediately retract his actions by spurting a web from his wrists and pulling them back to his side on the bed. Even that irritated the boy and he wanted to get away from all of this.

Feeling like his parents' arguments was his fault, wondering if anybody in this world would ever take him seriously and unsure of whether or not he would be allowed to continue as 'Spider-Man'. He could still hear his parents arguing through the wall - especially with his spider-senses - and huffed before standing up from his bed and designing an idea in his head he knew would land him in immense trouble but nonetheless still planned to act out. Slowly scouting the room, he grabbed whatever he could from his room and pushed it under the covers to create the facade image of him laying in his bed asleep.

It felt wrong to do such a thing when his parents were bickering about his wellbeing but Peter couldn't stand overhearing their disputes all the time. He turned his light off and stood by his window for a short moment, reluctant to go out. He didn't even know where he would go. But then he looked outside and thought to himself 'anywhere is better than this right now'. With one foot out the window, he followed with the second and jumped before shooting a web from his wrist and pulling himself up higher in the sky.

Swinging through New York was a guilty pleasure of Peter's, especially in the nights when he could see the lights in all their glory; billboards, cars, stores, _everything_. No matter how bad he was feeling in the day, he could always rely on New York to push a smile on his face during the worst times. As he progressed through the city, a thought emitted in his mind. He'd never actually been in the Avengers Tower like he always wanted to be.

As a child, Steve and Tony kept their child away from that building as much as they could and in the most extreme cases where they had no choice but to go there, Peter would stay with their friend Clint Barton's family which worked well for them until Clint decided to go off the radar. But by the time Peter had gotten his powers which would have made it easier for him to get in than the prior, feeble attempts of asking to be let in, Tony had sold the building and Peter thought that was the end of it. All of those mighty superheroes all in one tower - Thor, a god, The Hulk, which needed no discussion, the Natasha woman he'd met in Tony's gym a long time ago. It was one thing to have superhero parents but to know he'd missed out on those superheroes disappointed Peter. Still, it didn't mean the old tower wasn't a bad idea.

Usually, the young man would have brought his blue and red suit but tonight he just wanted some time to himself. Reflection, if that's what he was calling it. It didn't take him too long to reach the deconstructed building and for a split second, he could have sworn he saw an orange light flicker in one of the opened, exposed windows. Merely putting it down as his imagination, Peter continued until he saw an empty window panel and slid through the opening peacefully, landing on his two feet majestically.

It was breathtaking to him that he had even been in the building but it wasn't much to look at. Surrounding him was an empty room of scattered remnants, a few torn down walls and the marble floor had been shattered. 

If Peter could, he would have gone back in time standing in the exact same position he was to see what would be happening. From the stories his fathers told, Thor would be showing off his strength by proving the others 'unworthy' with his mighty hammer, his fathers Tony and Steve would be working on something such as an upgrade for their team of heroes to use during battle and it was outstanding to even imagine. So much history came with the building and now it had been rendered to a pile of debris, ready to clear away. In fact, Peter had been so caught up in his thoughts that he failed to notice a light simmer behind him and it slowly lowered as if it had been turned off.

"You know you're intruding, right?" A voice inquired from behind, and the brown-haired boy slowly turned around with no sign of agitation in case his spider-senses were not enough to predict or counter what the owner of the voice was willing to do. They weren't wrong after all, he was intruding. When his eyes met the person talking to him, he was shocked to see a man not that much older than him standing there in what seemed to be a dark grey jumpsuit. "How'd you get in?"

Observing the man before him, he was beginning to wonder if it was a man and not someone the same age as him as he was definitely young. Without thinking, Peter chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head. He swiveled his body to face the window and looked at it.

"I...uh...climbed in?"

When his eyes returned to the curious man ahead of him, his arms were crossed and one eyebrow protruded above the level of the other one. He looked less than impressed with the answer and now he seemed impatient.

"Really? How old are you, you're a bit young to be breaking into buildings aren't you? Is someone else here?"

It seemed rich coming from someone who didn't look that much older than Peter.

"Nope, it's just me," Peter insisted. "Look, I'm sorry for breaking in like this - well I didn't break anything, I just - uh - climbed in."

The short-haired man wasn't buying it and his brown eyes stared deep into Peter's soul as he dictated whether or not he believed the teenager. He couldn't see any equipment anywhere and there was no sign of a break-in, plus he hadn't heard the boy coming in so it definitely confused him.

"So how'd you 'climb in'? I can't see any harnesses."

Peter smiled at him and shrugged his shoulders.

"It's complicated."

The stranger sighed and clenched his jaw as if to motion that he was getting more annoyed. Before Peter could say anything to defuse the situation, the man in front of him suddenly erupted into a show of flames and it definitely startled him. As the fire covered his body Peter backed up and opened his eyes as wide as he could, wondering how it was possible for something like that to even happen. The man's eyes were completely engulfed in the fire, his face, everything. Yet he stood there as if he couldn't feel anything.

"Try me," the man insisted.

Even throughout the flames, his voice was still gentle and delicate, and Peter could tell that this wasn't a bad person. No bad guy without powers like this would even offer Peter the chance to explain himself, let alone someone with the ability to spawn fire from their body. Peter slowly walked towards him and observed his body, he could see the suit was probably doing something but not with the fire. Maybe he had to wear the suit like Peter had to conceal his face in order to keep his focus sharp.

"I'm..." Peter began. He could either say he was Spider-Man or say that he was Peter Parker. It wasn't exactly an easy choice when he had to keep those two identities as far away from each other as possible. "I'm Peter. Peter Parker."

The man slowly lowered his fiery look and stared at the boy like he was trying to work out a riddle. He crossed his arms and frowned as he observed Peter once again.

"That doesn't explain how you got in here, or why you're here. But I'm Johnny. Johnny Storm."

Peter appreciated Johnny's gesture of returning an introduction and Johnny appreciated Peter's honesty. If he got in so smoothly surely he could get out the same way, but he didn't. Sure, the fire aspect probably played a big part but he could tell that Peter wasn't as hostile as he initially perceived.

"Look, I didn't mean to intrude like this. My dads used to own this building, and I never really got to see it as a kid, so I thought I'd just - uh - visit it."

Johnny recognized sincerity in Peter's explanation and raised an eyebrow once he played it back in his head.

"Wait, they used to own this building? You know this is the old Avengers tower right? Shit, is your dad-"

Peter smiled and nodded immediately to cut the excited man off.

"Yeah, my dad is Tony Stark. Please don't use that information to kidnap me and hold me for ransom..." Peter joked and Johnny even smiled a little bit at his quip. Johnny slowly walked towards Peter and looked around the building.

"Man...so, like, you never saw Iron Man kick it with Captain America and Thor in here?"

His curiosity made Peter smile as it was nice to see someone interested in his life and not just as some cruel joke. Although he had missed out on seeing everything that happened in the building it felt good to think about everything that occurred in his absence. Johnny began to play with one flame coming from his hand and twirled it as it hovered above his palm.

"Well, I-"

"Wait, you said your dads own the building...do you have two dads?"

Peter was apprehensive to answer as he wasn't sure how the conversation would go if he told him that Steve was also his father. The public was more than aware of Steve and Tony's relationship but nobody knew that they had a son that they adopted, especially with their only sightings by the Avengers tower having not included Peter. But Johnny seemed more interested than the type to hate the idea of someone having two parents of the same sex.

"Yup, two dads," the brown-haired boy answered. He said it so calmly yet Johnny's face cracked a smile wider than Peter expected it to be. He hadn't even expected Johnny to even smile at that.

"That's so cool. I didn't really know my mother, and my old man died like a few years ago..." Johnny explained dejectedly. His head dropped to stare at the ground as the flame above his palm slowly died out and Peter felt sorrow for him. He was clearly still young, and if this had happened years ago, he was even younger when he went through the tragedy. Thinking of only the right thing to do, Peter put an arm on Johnny's shoulder and prayed in his mind that it wouldn't startle him otherwise he'd only have one hand left.

"I'm sorry to hear that. If it helps, I'm adopted. My real parents died in a plane crash when I was a little boy and both my aunt and uncle died a few years ago."

His serious expression but concerned eyes comforted Johnny when he looked into them and he sniffled, nodding and stepped back from Peter to give himself some space.

"Why did - uh - they say you couldn't come here?"

Peter noticed Johnny's desire to change the topic and granted it.

"They reckoned it would be too dangerous for me to be in a room with people who had powers and who bad guys hated across the world."

Johnny chuckled and opened his hand to erupt a larger flame from his hand.

"How'd that work out for you?"

Now they were both smiling and Peter gazed at Johnny for longer than he should have. 

"I don't know, I mean it's not like I'm dead yet..."

Both of them were comfortable with where they were and Johnny cleared his throat once it was silent.

"You know, you never told me how you got in."

"Well, we've only just met."

"You planning on coming here again, Parker?" Johnny questioned. He'd have no objection but he didn't want to get his hopes up. It was cool that he could talk to someone for once, most people were kind of freaked out by the whole 'I can turn into a ball of fire' thing. Plus, Peter was funny. Johnny loved funny. 

"Will you be here?"

"I will."

"Then so will I."

Both of them felt giddy and a friendship had bonded between them already. Peter wanted to know more about Johnny and talking to someone who actually cared about what he had to say was definitely an incentive. For the most part, Johnny had kept to himself and raced cars through the streets during the night before getting his powers so the only people he'd encountered were car fanatics and the occasional guy going through a mid-life crisis. Now he just flew around the city whenever he was bored.

"Does it hurt? Being hot?"

Peter had not intended for it to sound like that and immediately his face flushed with heat at the first-hand embarrassment he was feeling. Johnny tilted his head with a smirk and was humored by the remark.

"I mean - not _hot_ hot! Just, you know, the fire thing?"

Johnny let a huge laugh leave his throat and bit his lip, feeling the embarrassment Peter was going through. The attempt of recovery impressed him so he couldn't tease Peter too much.

"I mean, not really. But what do you mean 'not _hot_ hot'? You think I'm ugly?"

Straight away the boy from Queens stuttered and Johnny was having fun.

"No! I mean, _no_."

"So you think I'm attractive?"

"Yes - no - wait...look it's getting late."

"Didn't seem late a few seconds ago..."

Peter decided that is was time to leave and with that, he walked towards the exposed window frame and grinned. Johnny's eyes followed him as he got closer to the panel and he watched as Peter aimed his hand outside.

"Oh yeah, to answer your question about how I got here..."

He jumped out and Johnny quickly rushed over to see where he want, gasping as he saw Peter glide through the sky on a series of webs. He couldn't believe his eyes, after all, he was a huge fan of Spider-Man and always wished that having powers would lead to them someday meeting. Maybe it wasn't Spider-Man, maybe it was someone with the same powers - after all, Spider-Man wore a suit and this was a random boy. Regardless of whether or not his new friend was the masked vigilante, Johnny looked forward to seeing him again and retained his smile until he felt something poke his back and he jumped.

Susan materialized by his side and he frowned at her for making him jump, as well as probably eavesdropping.

"What are you doing here? How long have you been here for?"

The blonde woman grinned and looked at him.

"Long enough to know..."

Johnny scowled at his sister and rolled his eyes after.

"Know _what?_ "

"That you like him."

She wasn't wrong. He did like Peter, but for now, it was as a friend - at least that's what he was telling himself. He could have denied it and gotten annoyed but there was no point as Susan knew her brother better than anyone. Instead, he just chuckled and walked away from the conversation, thinking about how fun it would be for him to shout 'Flame On!' by the Spider-Man's side some day.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter goes to see Johnny again, and they end up having more fun than expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted something adorable between the two and hopefully, it's the same for you when you read it.

Peter took no time in swinging back to his house as he became more flustered at the replay in his head of his conversation with 'Johnny'. All it took was a few more swings and he would have slid through the window, had it not been closed.  _Shit_. The instance he realized his parents were aware of his absence, he winced upon thinking of the punishment he'd get and the lecture he'd have to sit through despite the fact neither Tony or Steve even wanted to give it at whatever time of the night it was and Peter wasn't particularly too keen on hearing it.

Slowly crawling down to the front door, he awkwardly scratched the back of his head and ran his fingers through his straight brown hair before ringing the doorbell and waiting for whoever it was to answer it. Peter knew they wouldn't approach him together, so it would likely be Steve who opened the door to him and when he began to talk Tony would slowly creep in to add into the conversation. Peter loved both of his fathers equally and unconditionally, but he appreciated Tony's attitude towards misbehavior more than Steve's because Tony would always joke about how he did worse or that what the young boy did wasn't even that important. 

As he guessed, it was the former soldier who responded to the chiming noise and when the door opened, the blonde man frowned and moved his arm out to point up to the stairs.

"Upstairs,  _now_."

There was no point in trying to explain himself until he was in the same room as Tony so he merely nodded and obliged, showing his contrition with a remorseful expression and his head hanging low. Steve closed the door behind him and followed the boy up the stairs until he was in his parents' bedroom and saw Tony laying on the bed with a copy of A Game of Thrones. He'd talked about how a friend recommended it to him and ever since he'd struggled to put the book down. When Steve joined them, Tony could tell it was time to listen so he lowered the book and rolled his eyes.

"You would pick when Eddard works out that Cersei's children are...nevermind, you don't wanna know," the brown-haired man smirked and Peter felt less bad about the whole situation, even if he cringed at what Tony had mentioned.

"You know I've watched the show, right? That's why he-"

"Boy, you're in trouble with one dad. You really want to make it  _two_?"

Despite his crossed arms, Tony was still in a light-hearted mood and it was mostly to make Peter feel better about being in trouble. He was definitely a good kid and both Tony and Steve were more than aware of that but Steve possessed more of an uptight attitude about these things because he was still partially new to the world he lived in but he'd seen so many alarming things whenever he tested out the internet. Articles about muggings, constant pages on the rise of crime in New York on the computer Tony mostly used and kidnappings which frightened him the most. 

But most of all he was petrified of Peter being discovered. He knew exactly what people would do to have his own powers, let alone a teenaged boy who'd just gotten adapted to his powers.

So when he saw Tony joking around, it definitely irritated him.

"Tony, you are aware that he is in trouble here? This isn't a book club or one of those movie reviews sites like Spoiled Tomatoes."

The billionaire couldn't stifle his laughter if he tried and Peter covered his mouth to hide the amused grin. 

"This isn't funny, Tony! Our son is sneaking out in the middle of the night, going God knows where and look at him," Steve explained, his hand pointed to Peter's lack of Spider-Man suit and Tony agreed with him on that. It wasn't the smartest idea webbing through the streets when there was only one known person for doing the same thing. "Anybody could have seen him. Those hounds at the NY Bulletin would have a field day if they knew who Spider-Man was. And do you know how hard it would be for you to live a normal life if everyone knew?"

It lingered on everyone's minds that Steve was speaking the truth. New York was a dangerous place to live in, and they were grateful they weren't residing in Hell's Kitchen but nonetheless, it wasn't exactly a friendly place when it came to vulnerable people. Even on morning runs, Steve would occasionally have to chase a mugger and return a purse which led to 'aren't you Captain America' and before he knew it he'd be late coming back.

Peter felt bad for making his father worry so he looked at Steve with sorrowful eyes and swallowed the guilt hard.

"I - uh - I'm sorry. It was inconsiderate of me to do that, and I understand why you're mad."

The boy's apology stuck well with both parents and Steve lowered his crossed arms to his sides and sighed.

"Peter...I get I'm the hard-ass dad. I know Tony's the 'cool dad' and I'm the boring one but I just worry about you. I'm still not used to this world, so it's even harder for me to protect you from it, and that terrifies me."

After a few seconds of emotional silence, Peter approached Steve and gave him a hug without saying a word. Steve appreciated the hug and wrapped his arms over Peter to return the gesture as Tony watched on, impressed and almost ready to shed a tear with how precious the moment was.

"You're not boring, Dad. Who else can tell all those funny stories about Uncle Bucky during the World War? Or make sure I never use any bad language?"

Steve cocked his head to look at Tony and his eyebrows slouched along with his eyes in a disapproving look.

"Really? You told him?"

Tony shrugged his shoulders and returned to reading his book, which alluded Peter to shoot a web and retract it from him. Steve chuckled at Tony's mortified expression once he realized the book was no longer in his possession and Peter laughed at him too. 

"That's it, you're grounded," Tony smiled. 

 

* * *

 

It had only been just over a week since Peter met Johnny Storm but he felt like it had been too long since they'd talked. Waiting until the middle of the day, Peter failed to think of a better way to spend his Saturday than having another conversation with the barely older boy he'd met at the torn down Stark tower. When asked, he simply told his parents that he was going to see the new movie everyone was talking about and he chose to bring his Spider-suit this time to avoid the risk of getting caught. He only put the mask on and kept the rest of his clothes casual, if he had to change he could do it there.

Once again, it did not take long for him to arrive at the Stark tower and this time he felt less wary about entering unannounced. The room was more furnished than when Peter first saw it and now it almost felt as if he was actually breaking and entering considering how it looked as if someone was living there. Before it was empty and dark so it felt less like a crime but seeing the couches and half-painted walls made Peter feel like an intruder. Slowly putting his bag down, he looked around the room.

"Johnny?"

In his head, Peter knew it likely wasn't the smartest idea to yell out the boy's name when anybody might have been in. But it was too late to take back his exclamation so he simply ambled across the room waiting to see whether or not he had made a stupid mistake. There was no response and Peter believed he was alone until something flashed behind him and he turned to see a blonde girl who definitely wasn't there when he came in.

"Oh! I...I really don't know how to explain this. But I'm not a criminal!"

The girl seemed amused at his sincerity and need to assure her that he wasn't a threat. Once she smirked Peter was confused and she looked at him, running her eyes up and down at the boy as if he were being assessed.

"I know. You're that Peter boy who my brother has a cr-"

"-question for, who has a question for," Peter's friend interrupted, quickly walking. Peter almost believed that he was worried about what she had to say, but couldn't work out why. Disregarding it, he was happy to see Johnny again and smiled at him. "Hey, Peter."

His tone was gentle and welcoming, the smile cracking larger across his face was more than genuine. Peter waved and the girl giggled at him but Johnny frowned at his sister and jerked his head towards the door, emphasizing without any words that she needed to leave. When she pretended not to understand, he gritted his teeth and said 'go' quickly which entertained her enough to do so.

Once she was gone, Johnny sighed and noticed Peter was standing there with a protruding eyebrow raised.

"So...is that your...girlfriend?"

As soon as he asked the question Johnny grimaced.

"Ew, no. That's my sister, Susan. I know, I know, she's-"

Peter quickly stopped him in his tracks.

"I wasn't even thinking about that. As long as you've got family, it doesn't matter what they look like, just as long as they're there for you."

The corner of Johnny's mouth raised and he smiled to himself. Not many people reacted the same way to Susan the way Peter did, and Johnny would have still been attending Empire State University if some punk hadn't made a comment and prompted him to set the entire classroom ablaze when he'd just gotten there. Luckily nobody was hurt, but it was definitely not easy for their father to insist it was something to do with the equipment in the chemistry classroom.

But Peter was right.

Susan comforted him when they lost their father and all they had left was the building he'd bought for his children as well as the other two new friends they made, Richard and Ben who shared the same difficulties of adjusting to life with superpowers, especially Ben. This was his legacy and with it, they'd become a team of superheroes who could keep New York - and the world, if needed - safe now that a sum of the Avengers had retired. 

"Too right. Hey, now that you're here, you wanna play a game or something? Don't tell Suze, but I bought a PlayStation with some of the money I kept from street-racing."

Peter couldn't see how a lie like that was bad but he wasn't judging the short-haired boy. He'd told a few questionable lies himself and regretted it so he knew Johnny probably didn't enjoy how it felt. Peter nodded and walked with Johnny to sit on the orange couch, not noticing how they'd both sat directly next to each other and were close to bumping shoulders. Johnny took the controllers from the side of the couch and passed one to Peter.

"So, Parker. How long have you been Spider-Man?"

His question caught Peter off-guard and the younger boy cleared his throat as a way to buy time to think about the appropriate answer.

"I - uh - I guess it was a few years ago, I was on a field trip and this spider bit me, next thing you know the sink is completely broken because I have enhanced strength."

As Johnny selected a game, he laughed and looked at Peter with an amused grin. The way he looked pushed a smile on Peter's face and he laughed at it too, thinking back to the dire amount of panic he had that day.

"Wow, and here I thought me waking up, strapped to a bed and on fire was bad."

The two continued to laugh and as they died down into chuckles, Johnny wiped his eye and sighed.

"You know, I always wondered, does that web come out of your arm or...?" 

"Well, it comes out from my wrists but yeah, I guess."

"And what does it feel like?"

"Hm...I don't know," Peter answered, shrugging his shoulder. "To be honest, it's not what you think. I have mechanical shooters that aim where it goes, but the stuff does come from my body."

Johnny frowned and used one hand to raise one of Peter's wrists up.

"You mean you use the web shooters that we all bought from a store?"

"Yeah, but I made it," Peter smiled. "And I use my own bodily fluid instead of making something to put in those toys."

"First of all, no more 'bodily fluid' alright? Spider-Man is like, my hero, I don't need to hear that. And two, it's not a toy, it's a replica..."

Peter was joking about the 'toy' but hearing that he had a replica of the web shooter was highly flattering to him, and it was especially nice to hear that Spider-Man was Johnny's hero.

"Aw, I'm flattered to be your hero," Peter teased.

"Hey, Spider-Man's my hero, you're just an intruder who insists he's Spider-Man."

Their back-and-forth conversation entertained both of them and as they picked their characters, Peter became curious.

"So, do you think you'll ever, like, go through what my Dads went through? Being told what you can do because of the whole 'fire' thing?"

Johnny took some time to gather a response and bit his lip as he thought on it. 

"I guess, but I don't really care about that. I wanna protect the world, and nobody can change that. Just like I can't change the fact I have powers, so why not use both irreversible motivations to reverse the level of fear people live in?"

They started their game of Mortal Kombat and Peter couldn't be more impressed with Johnny's answer. Peter managed to get the upper hand and take a large sum of Johnny's health away but Johnny grunted and mashed the buttons to try and do whatever was possible to stay in the running.

"Gah! Take  _that_!" Johnny exclaimed, frowning with grit teeth and Peter tried to keep the competition in his favor. Both of them showed passion to their match and Peter even moved a hand in front of Johnny's face with a devious grin. The boy tried to avert his eyes from behind Peter's palm and nudged him in an effort to clear his obstructed sight.

Once Peter won Johnny shook his head and stood up with a smirk.

"You totally cheated," he claimed with crossed arms.

"Or you're just bad competition."

Hearing that seethed the short-haired boy as he was very competitive and he wouldn't allow Peter to beat him the second time they met.

"Well, what about a good old-fashioned game of tag?"

Peter's brow furrowed and Johnny chuckled.

"Don't worry, Superhero Tag. I can fly and you can web, so why not?"

It sounded fun, and the room was definitely big enough, as well as the fact Peter brought his suit if it ended up outside.

Peter shrugged his shoulders weakly and found no reason to dispute it, so he tapped Johnny on the chest and jumped up from his seat.

"Hey! Cheater Parker!" Johnny complained, flying up from the couch to chase the boy who'd already begun to cling onto the walls. Once he flew towards the wall Peter was attached to, the brown-haired boy did a backflip off the wall and extended his arm to swing to the other side of the room. Johnny rolled his eyes at the blatant act of showing off and Peter grinned as he continued to outsmart the older boy.

"How's that, Johnny Slow?"

Peter went to do a second flip when Johnny pretended to chase him and when Peter deployed a web Johnny rose up to tag him mid-swing. After being victorious, he taunted the boy with a dance he knew was cheesy but he didn't care. As he continued to taunt Peter, Peter shot a series of webs to stick the boy to the wall and Johnny's eyes widened at the fact he couldn't break free from the webs.

"Oh yeah?" Johnny smirked. "Watch this...Flame On!"

Peter's mouth dropped as Johnny erupted into flames, which destroyed the webs and Peter was impressed with his intellect.

"Not bad," Peter commented. Johnny leaped to the ground and ran normally as Peter chased him and Johnny flew over his head to do a flip that made Peter's look inadequate. With his sharp reflexes, Peter shot two webs and pulled Johnny towards him before the boy could counter with his flames. But he'd gotten too excited and pulled with too much force which brought the boy to him much faster than he'd anticipated and Johnny practically crashed on top of Peter, bringing them both to the ground hard.

They both grunted and Johnny remained over Peter as the younger boy caught his breath and chuckled, which made Johnny do the same. It was practically impossible for either of them to break eye contact considering how close they were and suddenly both of them realized how close they were. Peter made no effort to push Johnny off and Johnny could have easily got up. But neither of them actually did.

After a few seconds of silence, Peter moved his eyes down to Johnny's lips and felt weird for staring, but he didn't stop. It was almost confusion, but a part of him knew why he was. But he couldn't feel... _surely not_. They'd only met two times. It would be weird to -

Johnny moved in and pressed his lips on Peter's with scared eyes, which slowly settled to comfortable and Peter closed his eyes before joining in the kiss. Everything Peter thought about before his brain was cut off by Johnny's lips slowly dissolved and he continued to enjoy the kiss until Johnny stood up and backed away from him. Once he did, Johnny smiled but Peter looked at him with the confusion that returned to his mind. He'd never kissed a guy before, or even a girl. Was it weird that he didn't feel weird? Was he...there were so many questions flowing through his head and Johnny noticed how uneasy he looked.

"Shit! P-Peter, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to - "

"Johnny...I - I think I like you. I know we just became friends, but I feel different around you. Like we connect. Like you're the only one who understands me. I don't wanna ruin that."

Peter walked over to the couch and claimed his mask, holding it in one hand. 

"I'll see you around, Johnny Slow."

Johnny smiled and bit his lip, watching Peter put his mask on.

"See you around, Cheater Parker."

Once Peter left, Johnny grinned to himself and stared at the ground, reflecting on what had just happened. With a single happy sigh, he shook his head amusedly.

"Cheater Parker."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the update, and thank you all so much for supporting the story!


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